Evesham Vale Growers and R & L Holt Increase Marketable Yield By 25% Using Signify’s Hybrid Lighting System
Hybrid lighting enables year-round production of consistent, high quality tomatoes for supermarkets
Hybrid LED plus HPS toplighting make it possible to precisely control growth throughout the year
R & L Holt and Signify extend their partnership to maximize crop results in new greenhouse
Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced that Evesham Vale Growers and R & L Holt, premium tomato growers in the UK, have once again chosen Philips LED and HPS lighting for a new greenhouse, based on the 25% increase in crop production that was achieved with its Philips hybrid lighting set-up which was installed by Philips Horti LED partner Certhon in 2015.
In the new greenhouse, the company will install Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact and Philips GreenPower LED interlighting, together with HPS lighting installed by the Philips Horti LED partner Certhon. The compact, passively cooled LED toplighting can be easily installed with the HPS lighting on the same trellis. This combination allows the company to use LEDs to extend lighting in the spring when it’s warmer, instead of the HPS lighting which produces more heat.
“I’m delighted to see that our customers are returning to us for new projects”, said Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Signify. “Our long-term partnerships enable us to learn from the improvements they have achieved and help them further improve the consistency and predictability of their crops. This move also confirms that our customers recognize the value that the LED toplighting compact offers in terms of combining LED with HPS lighting on the same trellis construction.”
Evesham Vale Growers and R & L Holt grow cherry, cocktail and large tomatoes on the vine, as well as loose classic tomatoes. All crops are grown for flavor, as supermarket premium ranges. Since all of the crops are grown in heated glasshouses, the season can stretch from February until November, but the company is always looking to further extend its season.
“After our success with our first hybrid HPS and LED interlighting system, we knew we were on the right path,” says Roly Holt, co-owner of R & L Holt. “We did a trial in another greenhouse with LED toplighting, LED interlighting and HPS lighting, and that system allowed us to specifically target different parts of the canopy to control our products. That is why we’ve now chosen this three-component set-up. We think this will give us a really sustainable and consistent product.”
Introduced in June 2019, the Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact delivers excellent performance. Its high light output of 1,800 µmol/s and efficacy of up to 3.0 µmol/J help growers effectively optimize crop growth, enhance crop quality and cut operational costs. Compared to a 1,000 W HPS fixture, the Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact produces the same amount of light, has a similar light distribution, while consuming 40% less power and emitting considerably less radiant heat.